Honda Car Forum

Car is basic civic. California 1300 fuel injected. No frills
Ran fine yesterday today quit dead in the road. Low miles no oil leaks,
solid motor.
Has fresh gas
Seems to have weak spark
I have a factory manual for an 87 version of the same car so I have been
reading that.
There are so many things it could be. I don't want to just keep trying
parts.
Any help would be excellent. I can't afford to miss work
Thanks

How old are the distributor igniter and the distributor
coil?

Same question for the plugs, ignition wires, distributor cap
and rotor.

It's very common for Civics of this vintage to have a
distributor problem (or problem a bit downstream or upstream
of it the distributor) of some kind. Freshen up all these
parts, and everything often goes back to normal.

Also, how old are the air filter and fuel filter?

There's an online manual for 91 Civics under the free repair
guides at www.autozone.com .

www.tegger.com/hondafaq has a section on no start conditions
that might be helpful.

Elle
Original owner, 1991 Civic, 172k miles and running well.


"daniel peterman" <clover338@webtv.net> wrote
> Car is basic civic. California 1300 fuel injected. No
frills
> Ran fine yesterday today quit dead in the road. Low miles
no oil leaks,
> solid motor.
> Has fresh gas
> Seems to have weak spark
> I have a factory manual for an 87 version of the same car
so I have been
> reading that.
> There are so many things it could be. I don't want to just
keep trying
> parts.
> Any help would be excellent. I can't afford to miss work
> Thanks
>

clover338@webtv.net (daniel peterman) wrote in news:6689-439770BA-
2@storefull-3338.bay.webtv.net:

> Car is basic civic. California 1300 fuel injected. No frills
> Ran fine yesterday today quit dead in the road. Low miles no oil leaks,
> solid motor.
> Has fresh gas
> Seems to have weak spark
> I have a factory manual for an 87 version of the same car so I have been
> reading that.
> There are so many things it could be. I don't want to just keep trying
> parts.
> Any help would be excellent. I can't afford to miss work
> Thanks
>

does the motor sound different when cranking it?
Like a faster "whirr" than the normal slower cranking?
If so,it could be a broken timing belt.

My Civic CVCC died suddenly that way.
Just died as if I switched the ignition off.
Fortunately,it was not a "no-clearance" valve train where the pistons
damage the valves.

Then there's fuel supply problems like the infamous "main relay" that is
easily fixed by resoldering it's PCB.
Then there's ignition problems like the "ignitor" or ignition coil
failures.

www.tegger.com is a good site to check,lots of good info.

And a Haynes manual only costs about $20.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Thanks to all who responded so fast.
The FAQ site is terrific. I'll let you know what I find out in the next
dayor two.
Merry Xmas to all
Dan

daniel peterman wrote:
> Car is basic civic. California 1300 fuel injected. No frills
> Ran fine yesterday today quit dead in the road. Low miles no oil leaks,
> solid motor.
> Has fresh gas
> Seems to have weak spark
> I have a factory manual for an 87 version of the same car so I have been
> reading that.
> There are so many things it could be. I don't want to just keep trying
> parts.
> Any help would be excellent. I can't afford to miss work
> Thanks

Go to www.tegger.com and go to the no start condition. Here are some
questions to get us in the ball park:

You've indeed tested for spark, I take it? I ask because, If you're
just assuming weak spark, we're just guessing and you'll get
suggestions with a dozen things to replace.
How do you know it is weak? (if weak, check wires, cap, rotor or coil)

Are you getting gas? Measure across the fuel tank with a voltmeter. You
should see 12V appear and then disappear (maybe 1 sec) when you turn
the key to 'on'. You should see 12V with the car starting. If not,
check the supply voltage to the main relay. (could be your main relay
or ignition switch)

Remco

Jim Yanik wrote:
> clover338@webtv.net (daniel peterman) wrote in news:6689-439770BA-
> 2@storefull-3338.bay.webtv.net:
>
> > Car is basic civic. California 1300 fuel injected. No frills
> > Ran fine yesterday today quit dead in the road. Low miles no oil leaks,
> > solid motor.
> > Has fresh gas
> > Seems to have weak spark
> > I have a factory manual for an 87 version of the same car so I have been
> > reading that.
> > There are so many things it could be. I don't want to just keep trying
> > parts.
> > Any help would be excellent. I can't afford to miss work
> > Thanks
> >
>
> does the motor sound different when cranking it?
> Like a faster "whirr" than the normal slower cranking?
> If so,it could be a broken timing belt.
>

The belt might have skipped a tooth, but could not have broken if he's
getting spark.

It appears that there is a small screw that holds the rotor to the
distributor shaft and it some worked itselfout and when I took of the
cap it disappeared.
I hope its that simple

Careful. I would call this a known problem with circa 1990
Hondas. The threads for this screw, and in the distributor
shaft, are likely stripped. The screw is likely to keep
working itself free. Carry tools to re-attach it in the back
of your car. You can try Loc-tite but my recollection is
this won't be enough.

This happened on my 91 Civic in 2002. The screw kept coming
loose over roughly a year long period. The dealer wasn't
clear about what was happening, hence it went on longer than
it should.

Ultimately, on the advice of another here who had had this
happen, I drilled a hole through rotor and shaft and used a
cotter pin. That worked fine. Post if you want more info on
this fix.

The alternative is to buy a new distributor housing, which
of course will have a new shaft. Probably a good idea to
replace the housing at least once in the life of the car,
since bearings, wire harnesses, etc. wear. I bought a new
housing in 2003.


"daniel peterman" <clover338@webtv.net> wrote
> It appears that there is a small screw that holds the
rotor to the
> distributor shaft and it some worked itselfout and when I
took of the
> cap it disappeared.
> I hope its that simple
>

Elle wrote:
> Careful. I would call this a known problem with circa 1990
> Hondas. The threads for this screw, and in the distributor
> shaft, are likely stripped. The screw is likely to keep
> working itself free. Carry tools to re-attach it in the back
> of your car. You can try Loc-tite but my recollection is
> this won't be enough.
>

You're talking about Vibratite, not just plain Locktite, right?
There's a big difference between the two when it comes to dealing with
shock and vibe.

You may want to see if you can get away with a slightly longer machine
screw; every thread turn helps.

Remco

You are all very sharp
The threads didn't seem to be stripped but I understand.
I used a slightly too long screw that would dig into the soft metal part
of the rotor.
Car runs great and I drove for about an hour.
I will carry some tools that I know at least will get me home should it
happen again.
Thanx so much ya'll.
I regained some of my faith in the kindness of strangers
Happy Holidays